Ignorant Bliss
by Amertalys
Summary: He couldn't let them know; he didn't want them to see the ugly monster he was underneath. His friends want him to smile, so all he has to do is stay hidden. Ignorance is bliss, they say...
1. Chapter 1

**BOLD is Kyuubi speaking.**

_Italics are Naruto's thoughts._

_**Enjoy!**_

…

"**It's all right, Kit. They just don't understand."**

Naruto looked up, lifting his head from his hands. He took a deep, shuddering breath. With that, he stood up from the sunken, trashed couch. He took a quick look around the room with dull, wary eyes. It was nothing new to see. Maybe he just hoped that it could possibly be viewed in a different way. But every time he looked, there wasn't. It was all crap, but he couldn't bring himself to care at the moment.

He shuffled towards the sink and filled a mug with cold water, all the while talking to his dear friend.

"I know, Kyuu. I won't let them mess this up…We've been working so hard." He made his way into his cold bedroom, shivering in the slightest. He sat on his bed, making it slump under his weight. He frowned, looking out the window.

"**Yeah,"** Kyuubi said, drawing it out and letting it ring against the walls. **"We won't. Our goal is ours, Kit. Those humans can't stop us now."**

Naruto took Nine Tails' words to heart, as he always did. _Kyuu is always here for me. He can't be wrong; I can't be wrong. I won't let them touch us. They don't understand; they don't know what they're doing._

"**I'm with you, Kit. I've always been." **And with that, Naruto slowly let the world ebb away. He put the mug on his nightstand, and gradually lowered down into the crevasses of his flimsy bed. He closed his eyes, finding himself snuggled in the crooks of Kyuubi's many tails wrapped around him. Sighing in a happy defeat, he let sleep overtake him, with the Tails following right behind him.

…

Naruto gasped, jolting awake. Groggily, he rubbed his eyes and looked at his alarm clock. It wasn't even noon yet. He never woke up this early. What could've got him up? He then heard a series of pounding on the door. Groaning, he pushed himself up off his bed and made his way to the door. He had to stop for a bit as lightheadedness overtook him.

_Who could possibly be at my door this early in the morning?_

"Naruto? Naruto, are you in there?" They yelled through the door.

Naruto groaned some more. He recognized that voice. With droopy eyes, he clicked open the lock. The door burst open, with a familiar pinkette busting herself in. Naruto stumbled back, falling on his rump. Sucking in a sharp intake of breath, he rubbed the back of his head, laughing almost apologetically. Good old Sakura, to be barging in like that.

"Hey, Sakura," Naruto said lightly with a small smile, while she was ranting her head off. With her back turned to him, Naruto rolled his eyes and let the smile slip off his face. Just as quick as it happened, it was gone right before Sakura turned around.

"Naruto! I was out there forever! Why didn't you come to the door sooner?! Didn't you know I was waiting?"

"Waiting?" Naruto turned curiously towards her, his eyes getting a little sparkle of interest. Sakura huffed at this, not hiding any of her brimming annoyance. She started tapping her foot, glaring down at Naruto, who was still sitting on the floor. She puckered her lip, almost pouting that she has to engage in even further conversation with him.

"Did you forget?! You dumbass, you can never remember anything! How can you live by yourself, knowing you, you'd forget to eat!" Naruto flinched at this, his eyes glazing over a guard. "Kakashi-sensei assigned us a mission today, stupid! Sasuke is waiting outside, so hurry up!" Sakura scolded, looking disapprovingly at Naruto. He just shrugged and got up, dusting of his pants.

"You're not even dressed yet, are you? Can you do anything right? We leave in thirty minutes, at least try to be on time. See you then." And with that, Sakura up and left with Sasuke, both of them probably going to finish packing for their mission. Naruto frowned, walking towards the bathroom with downcast eyes. He constantly wondered if Sakura always meant what she said. What was he thinking? She completely did. He was the idiot who completely forgot of Team Seven's mission. If it weren't for her intrusion, he would've slept through it all. That didn't sound so bad, but still. Going on a mission means exercise. The blond would hate himself if he passed any opportunity of exercising up. He let his two sizes too big pants fall from his protruding hips and onto the cracked, tiled floor. He slipped off his shirt and turned on the shower, stepping in its stream. Holding back a shiver, he quickly washing. He didn't have heated water, so the water was icy cold. After that was done, he grabbed his signature orange jumpsuit.

_I hate this ugly thing._

It was the only thing he had that was thick and baggy enough to hide his body. Besides, it's not like the villagers would sell him anything else. It was the only thing he could get his hands on. All the while getting dressed, his darkened droopy eyes stayed focused on the floor. He avoided the harsh gaze of the mirror. He couldn't start up with so little time. It'd just have to wait. So he pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind and continued to get ready. He packed a duffle bag with some spare clothes, his weapons, and medical supplies, all of that sort. He checked his time, still rushed. He skipped breakfast, but that is what happens normally. It was given. The sunshine blond was out the door with ten minutes to spare, using that time to get to the bridge. He ignored all of the glares on his way there, trying to not let it get to him.

_I hope this mission is a quick one._ He wasn't really up to being around _those _people. He would have to amp up his guard around them. His head pounded in tune to his stomach panging. This was the usual though. He got used to it a long time ago.

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**BOLD is Kyuubi speaking.**

_Italics are Naruto's thoughts._

_**Enjoy!**_

…

_It'll be fine, don't worry. Everything will be fine. Just like always. _Naruto reassured himself, arriving at the bridge. Slowly walking up to his teammates, he tightened his grip on his bag strap. He plastered on his signature mask, with it slipping on like silk. He mastered it just a couple years back, around the age of fourteen. The mask was his security blanket. His friends always wanted him to smile, so he thrived to meet their expectations. Besides, he couldn't let them know; he didn't want them to see the ugly monster he was underneath.

Dark onyx eyes pulled at lapis ones, calling Naruto from his thoughts. Sasuke quickly changed his gaze showing his boredom. He shrugged, leaning his body against the railing. Sakura was fervently trying to get Sasuke's attention; key word being trying. Naruto forced a lighthearted laugh at the average scene, taking his place sitting on the railing. The team talked about mindless things, waiting an hour for their sensei to arrive. Sakura complained him, but this time it was different. Naruto didn't join in, as he usually would. The pinkette tilted her head at this, a bit baffled. Sasuke took the effort to look up at Naruto, evaluating what he saw. Naruto was looking down with the slightest frown showing through. He looked like his mind was on something that was obviously troubling. Even Kakashi turned his eye down on his student.

'Dobe,' Sasuke muttered under his breath. He pulled away from the railing as Kakashi and Sakura started walking, apparently shrugging off Naruto's unusual behavior. Sasuke observed the blonde's face; realizing some things he hadn't before. The sunshine boy seemed duller—his eyes were sunken in, accompanied with slightly purple bags. His cheeks protruded more, hollowing his face. Making his way down, the blonde's shoulders slung with a defeated sag. The eyesore orange suit hung on his body. The black-haired boy squinted at this, frowning. He began walking towards Kakashi and Sakura, seeing as they've gone a bit ahead. Naruto jostled back into attention, finally, only to slide on his mask, running to catch up with his team.

…

Team Seven's mission was a simple escort, as Kakashi explained on the way to the gates of Konoha. Their client was a popular poet looking for some protection while traveling to his home village. Their destination was a small neighboring settlement, just a ways off. The trip would be two days, three expected to be the max. The poet was waiting for them at the gates, with his luggage laying at his feet. The client was an old yet healthy-looking man, his eyes filled with that of wisdom. Each of the shinobi picked up a luggage bag, and were on their way. The old man was quiet, stroking his white beard. Sakura was trying to ease the awkward silence, filling it with a monotonous conversation about the events of her day. Kakashi joined in shortly after. Sasuke sighed, 'I can't wait for this shit to be over,' thinking to himself. Naruto looked somewhat alert now, but still wasn't fully there. Curiosity struck the Uchiha with the blonde boy. Sasuke determined that he'd deal with it later.

…

"I'm hungry!" Sakura complained. The group was currently trying to find a restaurant that was in the area along the way. Naruto cringed at that. They finally found a small udon shack, much to the team's relief…well, at least most of them. Settling down to be served, Naruto stiffened up.

_What do I do, Kyu? _He thought, obviously in a bit of distress.

**Don't worry, Kit. Knowing them, they won't notice a thing. If anything, we know our options. **Naruto grimaced at Kyuubi's last comment.

Five bowls of udon arrived and placed in front of each person. Everyone looked at it with hungry, delightful eyes, all except Naruto. His face showed disgust, but it was hidden soon, but not soon enough before Sasuke could see it. They all dug in, with the blond staring at his.

"I'm not that hungry," he said, pushing the bowl away. This was surprising news to the team, put they were too distracted with the food to show any interest. Surprisingly, the old poet took Naruto's untouched bowl, finishing it himself. The blonde looked down, unaware of onyx eyes studying him.

_I took care of it, _Naruto told the Nine Tails, thinking that he has control on the situation.

The rest of the team finished eating, putting their pay on the table as they left. Naruto squinted as his eyes adjusted to the sun. It was around noon, judging how high the sun was in the sky. There was still hours ahead before the team could call it a night.

…

The sun was dimming in the sky, being close to call it a night. Naruto's line of vision blurred around his edges as his steps became staggered. His body was getting weak, especially with the long hours the team has walked throughout the day. When was the last time he ate?

_When stupid Kakashi dropped by…_ That had been three days ago. Kakashi brought over some ramen, and insisted for Naruto to eat it then and there. Kakashi was already having suspicions, so Naruto was cornered.

Lately, a couple of Naruto's "close" people, if you could call them that, have been onto him. Tsunade is the one that started it all. Naruto cursed the medic under his breath. With her experience, she noticed Naruto's changing demeanor. But she didn't know everything, much to Naruto's relief. One day, Team Seven had been summoned to the Hokage's office for a mission. Naruto had been run down. That previous night had been a bad one; it was nightmare after nightmare. He didn't get any sleep, forming dark circles under his eyes and pale skin. He was very quiet, Tsunade noticed; something Naruto wasn't usually. Due to his fatigue, Naruto didn't compose his trademark mask; a careless mistake the blond still curses to this day. After a few days of constantly watching Naruto with hidden Anbu—much to his knowledge—the Sanin medic concluded that Naruto was suffering from sleep deprivation and a bit of depression. Naruto scoffed at her accusations, but also a bit glad of what she didn't find out. After all, he had been careful those couple of days. Tsunade thought she pinpointed Naruto's problems, the ignorant woman. But still, she found out too much in Naruto's book. The Hokage revealed her discoveries to Kakashi and Jiraya, assigning them to be on the look-out. Naruto hated it. Now, Kakashi would treat him so differently. At one moment, he would act as though Naruto was damaged goods, and the other he would squint his eyes at him, as if he was judging every move the blond made. But worst of all, most of the time, Kakashi started to avoid Naruto more. On missions, he would barely exchange words with him, let alone see him on the training grounds. Although Kakashi did drop by not too long ago, that was a rare occasion of the sensei engaging with his student. The sensei had been suspicious, observing Naruto. But, Kakashi lost the motivation and effort, and just went home shortly after with a big sigh.

The same happened with Jiraya. The old sage avoided Naruto, and even left Konoha to do some "research" for his book. Jiraya left without a word to the blond, only leaving Tsunade a short note of a broad explanation. The Pervy Sage needed some time for himself. He was easily overwhelmed with the well-being of the blond. He needed to distance himself, think about things, and how to act upon them. Basically, he needed time to think. But Naruto didn't know any of this; he thought that Kakashi and Jiraya didn't want to burden themselves with him.

The blond was convinced that if his close people found out about him, they wouldn't want to be around him anymore. Naruto would never want to drive them away. From his senseis' actions, he thought that would be the case. So he hides in the dark, builds walls around himself, and fabricates a beautiful mask. His cover is the Naruto that his friends want to see. And he'll do anything to make them happy, even if it means hiding [from] himself.

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

**BOLD is Kyuubi speaking**

_Italics are Naruto's thoughts._

_**Enjoy!**_

…

"Naruto, are you okay?" Sakura said, a bit of worry slipping in her voice. She saw his steps get ragged and his feet start to drag, bringing his shoulders down with them. Simply put, he looked…exhausted. Like he caught a cold or something. Now that she thought about it, Naruto didn't touch his lunch…that was a bit odd. Didn't the blond love ramen, so wasn't udon practically the same thing? This puzzled the pinkette, as she looked back at her sunshine teammate. Losing interest quickly, Sakura whipped her head back around to a much more intriguing subject; Sasuke. Through Sakura's nagging, Sasuke glanced in Naruto's direction. His gaze lingered just a bit longer before breaking away.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Naruto breathed out, trying to even his breathing. It was apparent that he was winded. To Sasuke, he looked just about ready to collapse. Naruto leaned against a tree, closing his eyes, and focused on his breathing. The sudden stop of motion peaked an interest in Kakashi, who turned around to see what was going on. After studying the blond with his eyes, the gray-haired sensei sighed, closing his book.

"Maybe it's good to stop here," he instructed, "It's getting dark anyways."

There was some rustling in the tree behind Sakura, who stopped to stand with the team's client. Kakashi quickly turned around on his heels, all the while thinking he wouldn't make it in time.

An enemy nin jumped out of the tree with a kunai in hand, aimed at the old poet. Sakura quickly stepped in front of the old man, her arms flying up. She shut her eyes, bracing for the attack she couldn't dodge, but nothing came. Opening her eyes, she saw Sasuke in front of her, fending off the enemy nin.

A partner of the enemy jumped out of some bushes, occupying Kakashi-sensei. Naruto went on high alert.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled as the Uchiha pushed back his opponent. Sakura was ready, and saw this as an opportunity to swipe at the enemy with her weapon, knocking him out. Just as quickly as those two took down theirs, Kakashi took out his enemy. But Naruto had the funny feeling that there was another friend of the bandits hanging by. Kakashi bent down to tie the two fiends up as Sasuke checked with Sakura and their client for any problems or injury. Just as Sasuke turned his back, a huge nin popped out of the teams, jumping towards him.

"Sasuke, watch out!" Sakura screeched at the top of her lungs.

'Shit! He's too fast!' Sasuke thought, spinning as fast as he can. The nin unsheathed a long katana, pointing it towards Sasuke's heart. Sasuke's eyes widened at the realization that he couldn't dodge this—the bandit nin must have used some type of paralysis justu. Not even Sakura, who was standing right next to him, could move. The bandit was closing in, and fast. The edge of the sword was moments away from impaling Sasuke's vulnerable flesh. Just then, a flash of blond crossed onyx eyes.

A sharp intake of breath was heard, filling the thick, shaken silence. Everyone's eyes bulged—even the enemy nin's. Naruto, with amazing speed, threw himself in front of Sasuke to take the brunt of the attack. The enemy pulled back, and with him, his sword. It made sickening sounds as it tore itself from Naruto's shoulder. Kakashi was immediately in action, now not skipping a beat. He was behind the nin in a flash, slamming him with his ninjustu. Naruto collapsed to his knees, clutching his shoulder. Sasuke dropped to his level, taking him by the collar.

"Why? Why would you do that?!" Sasuke yelled, shaking Naruto a little.

"Because teme...," Naruto spat. His eyes drooped. Kyuubi scoffed. Why would kit save that black-haired bastard? Lapis eyes drooped, his body started to fully feel the effects, and it was taking its toll. And with that, the blond was gone, submitted into darkness.

…

**Are you trying to get yourself killed?** Kyuubi was mad, but not so much as to hurt the blond. After all, he knew how much the kit's teammates meant to him, even if they did treat him like shit. Kyuu could never see what Naruto saw; why the boy was so fond and loving towards those people. All of them. Every one of them has failed him—hurt him, whether it was physically or mentally. The fox didn't get humans.

_Sorry, Kyuu. I couldn't just let him get hurt. You should know that. If anyone deserves to be hurt, it's me._

**You got it wrong, Kit. You of all people don't deserve to sacrifice yourself for that selfish Uchiha. You deserve happiness; your goals. Don't forget.**

_I know, I know, Kyuu. I'd never forget, if that's even possible._

**Okay, good. I'll talk to you soon, okay, Kit?**

…

Naruto groggily came to his senses; slowly. He felt as though he was underwater. He could hear his teammates talking distantly. He couldn't quite make out what they were saying. Naruto felt as though he was flying; soaring. It was an amazing, carefree moment. As if he was a caged bird that had just been set free—that's how he felt. He sighed into a light, airy smile that rested upon the corners of his mouth.

"H…H-…Hey…HEY!"

Naruto awoke with a start, all that pleasant feeling leaving his body. His eyes snapped wide open, frantically trying to take in his surroundings. Bold black eyes bore into him. He realized their owner.

"Are you finally awake, dobe?" Asked Sasuke, turning his head to the occupant on his back. Naruto saw that Sasuke was carrying him on his back, with his arms wrapped around the Uchiha's neck.

_Shit, I must've passed out._ Naruto cursed himself inwardly for his weakness. But something pulled at the teen's heart, at how Sasuke was carrying him. The Uchiha almost…cared for him. But Naruto shrugged it off. Surely it wasn't that.

Naruto looked over at his shoulder—the one that was wounded. He saw a temporary cloth wrapped around it and knotted to help clot the bleeding. It didn't look like they took off his shirt to dress the wound though, much to the blonde's relief.

Sasuke put Naruto down; the team determined that they were deep enough in the forest to camp.

"Sorry about back there, with the bandits and all," said the apologetic old man, "They're from some organization that doesn't like my work, I guess," he finished with a shrug.

"It's fine! That's why we're here," Sakura reassured, insisting that the old man sit down to rest. Kakashi started to set up four small tents total; everyone had their own. Sasuke resided at the edge of the clearing, silently taking the role of watchdog. Sakura set up a tiny camp fire, and started to take out packages of rice and soup. She passed them out to everyone, all except Naruto. He was off behind one of the tents, tentatively prodding at his wound. Sakura went behind the tent, with his soup and rice in hand.

"Naruto! Don't touch it. Not until I've fully treated it. I'll do that later. Anyways, here, take your food," she shoved the packaged food in his face. Naruto obediently dropped his hands, and put a small smile on his face. He shook his head at the food, trying his best not to look disgusted as he inhaled its smell.

"I've lost my appetite, Sakura-chan. That damn nin upset my stomach," he lied smoothly, his fakeness rolling off his tongue in small waves—not that anyone noticed.

"No, you're eating it. I don't need to be worrying about you because of your stupidity, baka. You need to eat after getting injured!" Sakura puckered her lips, tapping her foot on the ground. Naruto was annoying her, she wanted to go talk to Sasuke, but instead got stuck nannying Naruto. The idiot needs to hurry it up and take his food, and stop being difficult.

Naruto pouted, taking it. Inwardly, he was utterly repulsed by even touching the rice and soup. With Sakura still watching him, he opened up the rice and, painfully, forced himself to take a bite.

"Hurry it up!" Sakura said, hands now resting on her hips. Playing along, Naruto downed most of the rice. This was enough to appease Sakura, who then stalked off in the direction of the onyx-eyed boy. Naruto quickly dumped the soup next to him, and quickly got up. His hand shot up to his mouth. His stomach was killing him. Why the hell would he eat that? Damn…he would have to do _it_.

The faded sunshine quickly walked from the clearing, and went behind a huge tree. His finger lodged into his throat, causing the rice he ate minutes ago to come right back up. He didn't like forcing himself, but if he had to do it, he will. At least he passed Sakura's suspicions back there, but it wasn't as if she genuinely cared though. Trying to compress the loud sounds of him gagging, he squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the rest of his "dinner" to exit his unwelcoming body.

…

The pinkette quickly advanced on the Uchiha, much to his displeasure. He found her extremely annoying; as always. He wasn't in the mood right now to put up with her pointless banter. Losing patience quickly, he shrugged her off, and went to find something that would peak his interest. The blonde's face popped into his mind, deciding that he would go see where that idiot's run off to. The said boy wasn't in the tents, nor was he with Kakashi and the old man by the fire.

'Where else could he have gone?'Thought Sasuke. He checked behind the tents, and found an empty rice package on the ground. It must've been left by Naruto, concluded the Uchiha, somewhat annoyed that the baka would leave his trash behind. Sasuke turned around and stood facing the forest's edge.

'Did he go out for a stroll?' Contemplated the onyx boy. He decided to check, just in case, if Naruto strayed from the clearing. A few feet into it, Sasuke heard some rustling. He quickly yet quietly advanced forward to the noise, coming up beside a large tree. He turned, and what he saw sent chills down his spine.

Naruto was bent over on the ground with his fingers shoved down his throat; forcing himself to vomit the contents of his stomach, and along with it, blood. The gags racked the blonde's body, making it look like he's convulsing. Forcing himself out of his frozen state, Sasuke decided to walk closer to his sick sunshine, not yet being noticed. The Sharingan user cursed himself as he stepped on a twig. Naruto quickly, shockingly, looked up, eyes widening at the person in front of him. The blue-eyed boy scrambled backward, falling haphazardly on his butt. Sasuke noticed that Naruto's eyes were glassy, tears streaking his whiskered face. The cerulean eyes held fear; horror, at the situation in front of him. But anger, yet accompanied by conflicting emotions, flashed through the Uchiha's eyes.

"What the _hell_ are you doing?"

**TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

**BOLD is Kyuubi speaking.**

_Italics are Naruto's thoughts._

_**Enjoy!**_

…

"What the_ hell_ are you doing?"

The blonde's eyes were bulging out of their sockets. How could he of let this happen? How did it get this bad?

_He can't find out. I can't let him. No one can know!_

Naruto squeezed his eyes shut with a few tears escaping from the corners. Words tried to come out of his mouth, but they tumbled into each other, spewing much like the vomit had. He was incoherent the moment Sasuke's presence was revealed to him. The teen frantically racked his brains on how he could play this off; how to get out of this mess he created.

"I-I—," Naruto started.

"Shut up!" Sasuke spit out, fuming. This took the blonde aback for a second; startled by the Uchiha's sudden and rare outburst. His eyebrows knitted together, as if he could plead his way out of this.

The Uchiha lurched forward, marching towards Naruto; pissed. With every step he got closer Naruto's fear grew ten-fold. The blonde boy started shuffling away, in shock, still on his hands and knees. Sasuke advanced, looming over the boy. Naruto looked straight up into those onyx eyes with cold fear. There was something else in them, but Sasuke couldn't catch it.

With a forward and violent thrust, the black haired boy yanked Naruto's oversized orange jacket up. The boy's eyes narrowed in anger, regret and guilt reflected behind it. The boy's head went for a whirl. Naruto was exposed. Puckered ribs and sunken stomach harshly stood out. Bruises littered the pale skin, and bony outlines sketched the frail body. 'How could this happen,' Sasuke thought, along with a lifetime of other questions. Naruto swung his arm to knock Sasuke off, pulling down his shirt in the process. The blonde scrambled onto his feet, distancing himself with his valued teammate. The Uzumaki's eyes shone with betrayal and hurt. He was terrified at what would happen next. Would Sasuke run off and tell? Would he ruin his hope? Would he take pleasure in crushing it? All these thoughts encouraged the Jinchuuriki to back up even more, scraping his heels on the dank forest ground.

"Just stop it already—cut the bullshit! What the fuck were you just doing? What _have_ you been doing? What the fuck, Naruto!" Sasuke spit out vehemently. He was losing his mind. How could Naruto, _his_ Naruto, be caught in such a horrible act? The word that spun in the Sharingan user's mind is _why_.

The two boys stood there in a couple moments of silence, neither one daring to make a move. Sasuke used this time to make up his mind. Suddenly, the determined black-haired shinobi quickly closed the few feet between him and the sick blonde. Before Naruto could get away, he snatched up his teammate's wrist, frowning deeply. 'It's so thin,' Sasuke noted. The Uchiha started to pull the boy along with him, and not with much care. Naruto stumbled after him, doing his best not to trip and keep up. Sasuke yanked him until they came to the camp clearing outside the edge of the woods. Stopping for just a moment, the Sharingan holder quickly started up again. Naruto, realizing what Sasuke was going to do, started to pull away frantically, but to no prevail. The black-haired boy's grip wasn't letting up in the slightest.

**TBC**

* * *

Hey guys. First of all, I would like to apologize for the shortness of this chapter, let alone the time it took me to upload it. （/∇＼; ）I usually give myself a week to update, but I couldn't get around to do it. I'm not going to say that I was busy, but that my mind was. Does that make sense? Heh, well forgive me~

I would also like to sincerely thank every one of my followers, faves, viewers, or any supporters of the sort. I really appreciate it!

じゃあね！


	5. Chapter 5

**BOLD is Kyuubi speaking.**

_Italics are Naruto's thoughts._

_**Enjoy!**_

…

Naruto was in a sudden panic. His shoulder throbbed as Sasuke was pulling away at his wrist, making it clear his intentions of what was to be done with Naruto. He was going to tell. Naruto was carefree, and didn't hide himself carefully enough, didn't stay alert for anyone who might follow…And now that Sasuke knew, he'd make sure everyone else shared the same knowledge.

_H_e'_ll probably take pleasure in ruining everything I've worked towards._ Naruto grimaced. He already knew Sasuke hated him, and that he'd take any opportunity given to crush the blond. Naruto glanced over at his shoulder, as if in a trance, staring at the blood that began to spot through the cloth. _How pleasant, Sakura will yell at me for opening it back up…_

Naruto was quickly snapped from his thoughts as he saw the nearing campfire, lighting up the faces of the rest of his team. Fear flushed back, drowning out everything except the intention to _escape_. He felt as though he was a cornered animal, and ready to attack defensively. Acting on impulse, he abruptly twisted his wrist violently upwards, ripping away from the Uchiha's grip. Sasuke swung around, widening his stance, ready to take down Naruto if needed be. Naruto flung himself backwards towards the side, hunkering his legs to jump. Sasuke saw his crouch and immediately went into action, throwing himself at Naruto before the blond got a chance. The Uchiha hit Naruto hard in the stomach, sending the both of them flying backwards, tumbling over each other. On the way down, Naruto jarred his shoulder on the rough ground. Sucking in a quick intake of air, Naruto fell onto his back, trying not to put any weight on his left side. With the blonde's distraction, Sasuke was quick to have the advantage by landing on top of the teen Uzumaki, pinning him down. He decided to tighten his grip further, making it painful than before. He didn't want to risk the blond trying to run off again.

"Stop struggling! I'm not letting you get away, and you know that you don't have a chance to. So don't make this difficult!" Sasuke yelled in Naruto's face, depleting any hope left in the boy's eyes. To Sasuke's amazement, the boy let his body go limp, surrendering to total defeat. Naruto's eyes dulled a bit, as if he's given up. Still cautious, Sasuke slowly got up, never letting go of the blonde's wrist. Once standing, he pulled the Uzumaki to his feet, not caring that it was the arm of the injured shoulder he tugged. Naruto looked down at the ground, ignoring the pain and trying to prepare himself for the hell he was about to walk into. Sasuke was right—he had no hope of getting away now. He was too far in to save himself_. Damn_. On the inside, Naruto was in utter turmoil. The one thing he wanted to keep was the bonds he held with his team, even if it's just one-sided. Now, after what Sasuke would reveal to them, all of that will be ruined. He feared they'd never look at him the same way again. Honestly, he couldn't blame them, who would?

The last few steps were made until the two arrived in the dim lighting of the campfire. Kakashi looked up with curiosity, raising one eyebrow at his students.

"What is it?" He asked, hinting a bit of impatience in his voice. 'Naruto probably did something again…,' he thought, not too pleased of what his student might've done this time. He honestly didn't want to deal with it. Sakura titled her head to one side, also wondering what was going on. She noticed the blood seeping into the cloth on his shoulder. She figured Naruto did something idiotic that reopened the wound. Naruto stood behind Sasuke, pathetically trying to hide himself behind him. Sasuke harshly yanked Naruto forward, frowning at Kakashi.

"See for yourself," Sasuke said, placing Naruto in front of him.

"Kaka-sensei, I—," Before Naruto could react, Sasuke yanked up his jacket up, letting Naruto's sickly condition speak for itself. Sasuke's face reflected that of disgust as he saw the absent stomach and taught skin pulled over the blonde's protruding ribcage.

As if comical, Kakashi's and Sakura's eyes widened dramatically, wholly shocked into silence of what they saw. Sakura pulled her hand to her mouth, gasping in the slightest. Kakashi, trying to compose himself, managed to spit out a few words, sounding very stern.

"Naruto, what is this?" He said bluntly, wanting the blond to speak. But Naruto was frozen; he couldn't move. His body was as petrified as this thoughts were, unwilling to make a sound or move an inch. If Naruto had his way, he'd choose to curl up and disappear right now. He couldn't handle this, he couldn't stay. To think that Sasuke would just take away his obscurity, just like that…It was utterly deplorable. Naruto's breathing rapidly became heavy and quickened, while sweat glistened off his forehead. He couldn't face them, not _now_.

_They can't know, they shouldn't know. No, fuck. What should I do, what should I do? _Naruto's mind went into a full-blown panic. His thoughts were jumbled, all over the place. He couldn't figure out how to move, or what to say. All eyes were on him, waiting for an answer.

**TBC**

…

Sorry…you can hit me now…


	6. Chapter 6

**BOLD is Kyuubi speaking.**

_Italics are Naruto's thoughts._

_**Enjoy!**_

…

"Naruto, what is this?" Kakashi's stare seemed to burn a hole through the still Naruto.

"Tch." Naruto gritted his teeth, clenching together his fists. His eyes remained downcast, gaze blurry with heavy judgment filling the air. "I," Naruto started, trying to find his voice. Everyone raised their heads a little more, intently curious of how the blond would explain himself. Naruto let out a shaky sigh.

"I-it's none of your fucking business!" Naruto's words slurred together, yet still kept their acerbic meaning directed at those who deserved them. In Naruto's case, it was all three of his teammates. Who all, in fact, where very taken aback at the blonde's response. Naruto's shoulders slightly shook as he tried to calm himself down, cursing himself for the sudden outburst. Sakura's never seen Naruto so frazzled, angry, or sickly…actually, there were a lot of things she's never seen. Kakashi raised an eyebrow, hiding his rising fear of what exactly was going on with his lively student.

Sasuke just growled at the boy. The only thing that was rising in him, at the moment, was anger. It tore its way through any other present emotions at the time. "What the fuck of a response is that?" Sasuke spat, he too shaking, but out of fury. He whipped his head towards Naruto, eyes burning just like the campfire in front of him. They flickered, licked with hurt and crackled with regret. He grimaced, waiting for somebody to speak. But Kakashi was swallowing back his words, afraid to make a noise. Hell, he was just as stunned as Sakura, both of them sitting there like gaping fish. Sasuke was too enraged to rationally form words. So that narrowed it down to Naruto, who realized no one else dared to speak.

_They're all waiting for me to do something, so I will. _Naruto contemptuously thought. "I'm going to my tent. No one bother me." He managed to gall enough courage to say his sentences viciously, trying to scare them off so they would listen to him. And with that, he clenched his fists further before walking off to the side, hurried to get to his tent. His privacy. His space.

"Naruto—," Sakura reached out, grazing his arm with her fingers as he passed by. He jerked back as if burned, almost taking a defensive stance. He tried to hide it, but Sakura noticed.

"Don't touch me." Staring right into her eyes, his gaze didn't waver. If it did, they wouldn't take him seriously. So he just had to act tough now, so they'd back off, and maybe not pursue further into the issue. Naruto hoped to god that would be the case. They already knew too much. Tonight was a huge blowup in his face.

"Just leave me alone," he huffed, finally breaking his line of sight from Sakura's scared one. And they let him go—entered the tent without a word.

There was a bit of rustling. Kakashi turned to see that it was the old-man client poking his head out of his tent, which was set up closer by. The silver-haired sensei sighed, turning back towards the fire.

"You heard, huh?" He said, almost exhaustedly.

The client pursed his lips together, giving a somewhat apologetic gaze. One of pity, perhaps.

"Yeah, I did," he said, exiting his tent to join the others at the fire. "The blond brat starves himself, huh? I knew there was a reason as to why I didn't like him." The old man was quite the curmudgeon.

"Shut the fuck up! Don't talk about him that way, you sleazy grandpa!" Sasuke spun on him, exploding with rage. No one should speak that way about Naruto, _his_ blond. Only he could say those things to Naruto! 'On second thought, maybe I shouldn't…' Sasuke noted, but disregarded it for later. Right now, he was busy trying not to rip the old geezer's head off. He took deep breaths, trying to calm his temper. The way it was going, he was taking out all his anger on the ancient poet. He sat down, resting his chin on his hands. He shrugged the client off, focusing on how to handle the situation of Naruto.

"Jeez, kid, didn't mean to make you so upset. I was only putting things into a blunt perspective," the old man backed off, sighing while stroking his beard. He lowered himself down to be seated next to Kakashi. Looking into the flames, he said, "You know, he reminded me a little of my nephew the way he looks. Doesn't act like him at all, though. My nephew is never in low spirits. Always jumpin' around all over the place, damn kid," he finished with a smirk.

"Well, that's the Naruto we all thought we knew...," replied Kakashi, words laced with confusion and self-disapproval. The Jounin felt as though he let Naruto down. After all, he had his suspicious due to Tsunade filling him in with the boy's 'sleep deprivation.' Yet, he had done nothing, hoping the blond would just come to. Fearing that the boy would push him away if he did anything. Kakashi cursed himself. Even if Naruto hated him for it, he decided he would help the Uzumaki in any way he can. He'd fix things, and make them right.

'Time to step up,' thought Kakashi, now determined to help. He wasn't going to let Naruto destroy himself.

As if he could sense it, Kakashi knew that the rest of his team felt the same way. They were all willing to help Naruto, no matter what it takes. In bare truth, they loved him, and cared for him deeply. Now they needed to prove themselves and actually show their emotions. And it wasn't going to be easy. For anybody, for that matter.

**TBC**

…

Don't worry, I'm going to do my best to post more and more often. I've been rushed to do this lately since school's about to start. Just need to find the time…Damn summer work… ( _ " )

Thank you guys so much for the lovely reviews, follows, and faves! They've been really encouraging, and they make my day. They're my inspiration for faster updates and what not. So thank you so much for the support I've been getting, even though I've been really shitty lately with the quality and updates…

Until next time, じゃあね!


End file.
